


he is a sucker with a gun

by trite



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence, M/M, Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Undercover Missions, Unresolved Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28603296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trite/pseuds/trite
Summary: Okay,Poe told himself.Show time.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux
Comments: 9
Kudos: 22
Collections: Hoelidays Gift Exchange 2021





	he is a sucker with a gun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inquisitor_tohru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitor_tohru/gifts).



> Happy hoelidays, mod! Thank you for organizing this event. ♥
> 
> Have some undercover First Order Poe, as a treat. I have messed with the canon timeline a little, by the way.

“You’re an improvement on the other guy,” Poe said when the officer entered the torture chamber. He was tall and pale, had a crazed quality to him. _Unhinged, fanatical_. That and the stripes on his uniform told Poe exactly who this guy was. General Hux, putting all the other true believers to shame.

He barely spared Poe a glance before saying, “if your intent is to flatter your way out of here then you should know that’s not much of a compliment, considering ‘the other guy’ was Kylo Ren.”

Disgust colored his every word, though Poe didn’t think it was exclusively aimed at him. The guy seemed to be the type to have a constantly displeased demeanor; maybe he really hated Kylo Ren or the galaxy or himself.

He went to the wall on his left and input a code on a screen pad, opening it and revealing an assortment of unpleasant-looking tools. They recycled everything from the Empire but in designing torture devices, they exhibited creativity.

When he reached for a syringe and two different-colored vials, Poe said, “wait, what are you doing? I already told your buddy everything.”

“Ren is easily distracted, prone to placing importance on personal matters, and generally not very good at anything besides being a Force ghoul.” He paused and turned to Poe, addressing him as if they were discussing a pleasant everyday event. “I’m here to make sure he was thorough.”

 _Okay,_ Poe told himself. _Show time_. “Wait, that’s not necessary. What do you want? I’ll give it to you.”

Hux stepped back, looked toward the holocamera on the ceiling, and then looked at Poe from head to toe, giving him his full attention for a second. “What?”

Poe frowned. “The information that you’re after?”

“Right. Why would you do that? Why would I believe anything you willingly volunteer?”

“Like I said, you’re an improvement on the other guy. Have you ever had the pleasure? Has he ever carelessly trampled through your mind with all the finesse of a toddler?” Not even all of Leia’s training had prepared him for it. It wasn’t even the piercing, unending pain that had been the problem — though that too had felt like nothing Poe had ever experienced — the problem had been the horrifying loss of autonomy, how helpless and insignificant it had made him feel.

He had stuck to the plan and he had played his part; he just hadn’t known how different the performance would feel from the rehearsal. If he made it out of this alive he didn’t know what he would tell Leia about Ben. _It’s bad. Worse than I expected. The worst._

“No,” Hux said, indignant. “He is not in a position to do that. He is not allowed to go through my mind because I am indispensable to our cause. I am not some common prisoner.” His words had a venomous bite to them, but he seemed uneasy, uncertain. Easy to read.

“Well, I don’t recommend it. Don’t get on his bad side.” Then added, “and don’t let him get to a position where he could do it.”

Hux swallowed and turned to the table on his right with his back to Poe. After a moment, he reached for a datapad. “Poe Dameron,” he read from it. “Is this what the so-called best pilot in the Resistance looks like? I can’t say I am particularly impressed.”

“I would like to see you looking your best after hours of torture and while you’re in binders.”

Hux grabbed a blade and approached him, looking offended and murderous. For someone supposedly so certain of his indispensable role, he rattled far too easily.

Still, Poe probably needed to tone it down a little. “Don’t pretend you don’t know who I am or that you don’t know I am that good. Better, even.” Okay, that was still the wrong approach. It made Hux stop on his tracks, though.

He huffed out a breath and turned around, put the blade on the table but still within his reach.

“Yes, I know who you are. I must say that the reality is far less impressive than the myth.” He circled Poe and declaimed, in the manner of someone who really loved the sound of their own voice, “I can respect someone with ideals, however misguided, but you’re just a cheap traitor. Willing to betray your cause to save yourself.” He stopped in front of Poe and gave him a displeased once over, like he found him lacking. “It’s disappointing, really.”

His intimidation tactics were far less effective than he thought. Though to be fair to him, Kylo Ren was a tough act to follow. He was in Poe’s personal space, using his considerable height to try to make him cower, enjoying that Poe was trapped and couldn’t move away. It was too bad for him that he didn’t know a thing about Poe.

“So you admit you were impressed.”

“What?”

Poe leaned forward, and said, his voice low and intimate in the space between them, “did I impress you?”

Hux recoiled and tried to walk away without looking like he was fleeing. He stood behind the table, subconsciously placing it as an extra barrier between them. He liked it in his own terms; that was— something to keep in mind.

“I won’t spare you just because you talk, but you could avoid further torture.”

“There’s that typical First Order generosity I’ve heard so much about. I can’t imagine saying no to a persuasive guy like you.”

The blindingly white overhead light meant for the prisoners’ discomfort washed Hux out, making _him_ look like a ghoul. “I don’t need to be persuasive. You will share all your information. Willingly or not.”

“But you can have me willing.”

“What?”

Okay, Poe was starting to get annoyed with this guy. “I offered to give you the information willingly. Remember? I’m just looking for a change of scenery.”

Hux frowned. “Your recent employment history may have given you a skewed perspective but we are a little more selective than that. A traitor Rebel pilot certainly wouldn’t make the cut. We have troopers on sanitation duty with far more promise than you.”

“But they can’t fly half as well as I can. Your pilots can’t either. I can be the best you’ve ever had.”

This time Hux just glared at him. Clearly the magic was gone between them. “You’re untrustworthy. If you betray one cause, what’s stopping you from betraying another?”

“I’ll prove my worth to you.” Poe almost winced. That was really not how he meant it.

“Stop being insolent already. Let’s start with the information and I’ll consider a swift death.”

“I know more than you think. You can keep me around like a vast fountain of information you can use to one-up Kylo Ren, impress your boss, get that promotion you’re angling for.” Their rivalry was well-known. Maybe their infighting could one day help save the galaxy, Poe thought.

“Is this some sort of ploy?” Hux tilted his head. “You’re stalling until a rescue arrives.”

“Nope, there won’t be a rescue. We— _they_ don’t have the resources. Especially not to save just one person. For all they know, I’m dead already.”

“I expected a far more sentimental attitude from your lot.”

“It’s war. We all have to be pragmatic.”

It wasn’t completely untrue. Poe hated undercover missions but this was a case where his notoriety worked in his favor — in their favor — and no one else quite fit the bill. He had to be pragmatic.

“Why do you want to live so badly?” Hux asked with genuine curiosity.

“Don’t you?” Poe was trying to stall. He needed an answer that would be more than just acceptable, he needed something that would make Hux respond to him. The personal touch.

“That’s not what I asked. Answer the question.”

“Because...” When he couldn’t come up with anything, he said, “because I do. I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“Well, you’ve squandered your chance to convince me.” Hux looked almost regretful.

“Could you be convinced?”

Hux leaned forward, placing his hands on the table; his long, delicate fingers left an imprint behind. “Even without all the intel you claim to possess, it would be useful to have someone with your skills on our side, even better to take those skills away from the enemy side.”

“You have your reasons right there. You don’t need my convincing.”

Hux laughed humorlessly. “As much enjoyment as I would derive from seeing you take down your former comrades, I don’t trust you.”

“Do you trust anyone?”

“I don’t make a habit of it, no.”

“I love flying and I want to keep doing it. I — I don’t know who I am on the ground.” Poe let some honesty bleed into his words, some part of himself come through. Something beyond the posturing, beyond the acts; this one, and all the others to come.

Hux felt suddenly closer even from the same place across the room. He stared at Poe and made to move but his progress was interrupted by a stormtrooper at the door.

“General Hux, sir.”

“I asked not to be interrupted. What is it?”

“It’s the prisoner that Ren brought. It escaped.” A beat. “Aided by a trooper.”

Hux tensed, opened his mouth a couple of times, and then said, “what prisoner?”

“The scavenger from Jakku, sir.”

Hux sighed and walked toward the door. “Have Captain Phasma meet me in the bridge at once.”

The trooper nodded and said, “sir, what do we do with this prisoner?”

“I’ve concluded my interrogation. Release him and process him into the system. He wants to prove his worth,” Hux said, looking at him. A challenge that Poe was unsure he was up for.


End file.
